Place du Château

Place du Château is the open space at the top of the old town of Saumur, in front of the castle, and it is the best place to understand the setting. The château stands on a rocky spur above the Loire, near the point where the river Thouet joins it, and the square sits on the high ground beside the entrance, with the old town and the wide river valley spread out below. The Loire here is a broad, shallow river with sandbanks and islands, crossed by the long Pont Cessart, the eighteenth-century stone bridge, and the effect of the white castle on its rock against the water is the reason the place has been painted and photographed for centuries.

From the terrace you see the castle as a whole. The pale tuffeau walls, the round towers with their steep roofs and the ring of ramparts form the picture-book silhouette, with the octagonal turrets added in the late fourteenth century under Louis I of Anjou. The best time to see it is in the evening, when the walls are lit and the glow reflects in the river, and many visitors come at dusk. The route up from the town is a steep street between old houses, and the climb is part of the experience, as each turn gives a different view of the towers.

The square is also a starting point for the museum visits inside the castle, which has collections of decorative arts and of equestrian history, and for walks along the ramparts and to the belvedere. A short distance away, the old streets of Saumur have timber-framed houses, small shops and cafés, and the Place de la République, with the town hall, a Renaissance building with turrets, is the centre of the town. The Théâtre de Saumur, the Musée du Cheval and the Marché de Saumur, which fills the town on Saturday mornings, are close.

Saumur is a good place for those interested in two traditions. The first is the horse. The town has been the home of the army's cavalry school since the eighteenth century, and the Cadre Noir, the elite riding corps, is based here and gives displays of classical dressage that can be booked. The second is wine. The hillsides around Saumur are riddled with caves dug into the tuffeau, and the Caves de Saumur and others make sparkling Saumur and the red Saumur-Champigny from the Cabernet Franc grape. Some of the caves are open for tastings, and others were used for growing mushrooms, an industry that began in the nineteenth century.

The square is open at all times and free to visit. It suits walkers, photographers and anyone wanting a viewpoint over the Loire valley.